Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541560
20 NOV. 29, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 35, SYRACUSE 0 Top Moment: Redshirt senior safety Jalen Stroman helped Notre Dame as- sert its dominance early against Syra- cuse. He intercepted a pass by Syracuse quarterback Joseph Filardi on the sec- ond play from scrimmage and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. Feature Performer: Stroman's first quarter impact wasn't limited to his pick six. He deflected a punt to end Syracuse's second drive, which junior safety Luke Talich returned 22 yards for a touchdown. Stroman added 4 tackles, including 1 tackle for a loss, before the quarter ended. Stats: Syracuse totaled 16 yards on 20 offensive plays. The Irish gained 163 yards on 10 plays for an average of 16.3 per play … Syracuse maintained pos- session for 11:13 of the first quarter … Filardi registered an efficiency rating of 0.1 on his first 8 passes, 2 of which were intercepted for touchdowns. He com- pleted 3 for a total of 12 yards. Items: Notre Dame led 21-0 before its offense took the field. Sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore returned an interception 46 yards for Notre Dame's third score … Junior running back Jer- emiyah Love scored a 45-yard touchdown run on his first touch … Redshirt junior running back Jadarian Price rushed for a 58-yard touchdown on his second touch. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 49, SYRACUSE 0 Top Moment: Redshirt senior wide re- ceiver Will Pauling erased any goal-to-go concerns for Notre Dame with a 6-yard touchdown catch from redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr on third-and-goal early in the second quarter. His touch- down came immediately after redshirt sophomore left guard Sullivan Absher was flagged for a false start to back up the Irish. Feature Performer: Redshirt soph- omore defensive end Boubacar Traore tallied 3 tackles, 1 sack and 1 quarterback hurry in the second quarter. His tackles came on plays that netted 3 yards as the Irish defense continued to dominate. Stats: Notre Dame only produced 39 yards on offense despite scoring 14 points on nine plays … Syracuse added 28 rush- ing yards and 37 passing yards to its totals. Items: Love capped Notre Dame's fourth offensive drive with its fourth touchdown on a 14-yard run. … Syracuse kicker Tripp Woody missed a 48-yard field goal late in the second quarter after head coach Fran Brown called a timeout. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 56, SYRACUSE 0 Top Moment: Notre Dame left its starters in the game to start the second half. Though it seemed like an obvious attempt to pad Love's stats for a Heisman Trophy campaign, Syracuse still couldn't stop him. He took a third-and-3 carry for a 68-yard touchdown. He celebrated his third score of the game with a Heisman Trophy pose in the end zone. Fea t u re Pe r fo r m e r : Fre s h m a n safety Ethan Long made an impact when the Irish backup defenders en- tered the game. His 51-yard pick six was wiped out by a roughing the passer pen- alty on the Irish, but he secured his first career interception later in the quarter. He also made the first two tackles of his career in the quarter. Stats: Notre Dame rushed for 104 yards in the quarter … Syracuse pos- sessed the ball for 11:51 without scoring. Items: Redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey entered at quarterback on Notre Dame's second drive of the sec- ond half … Redshirt freshman wide re- ceiver Cam Williams caught the first pass of his career for a 6-yard gain on the final play of the quarter. FOURTH QUARTER NOTRE DAME 70, SYRACUSE 7 Top Moment: Sophomore running back Aneyas Williams made his mark on Notre Dame's dominant rushing perfor- mance with a 30-yard touchdown run. He spun out of a tackle attempt by Syra- cuse safety Braheem Long Jr. and ran away from the rest of the Orange defense. Feature Performer: Freshman line- backer Madden Faraimo helped the Notre Dame defense continue to play well in the fourth quarter with 4 tackles and 1 sack. His sack ended Syracuse's first drive in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-4. Stats: The Irish rushed for 65 yards on 9 carries … The Orange totaled 74 yards on 18 offensive plays. Items: Minchey scored Notre Dame's sixth rushing touchdown on a 25-yard gain … Syracuse avoided a shutout with a 6-yard touchdown run by Filardi with seven seconds remaining. ✦ Junior running back Jeremiyah Love racked up 171 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 8 rushing attempts against the Orange. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER